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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wound · vault · bore · charge · capital · club · tear · hand

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. hand — in cards
  5. club — for golf
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bore — to drill
  8. capital — a city
  9. vault — a safe
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bore — to tire
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. club — for dancing
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. charge — electricity
  19. tear — from crying
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. capital — money
  22. charge — in control
  23. club — a group
  24. charge — a price

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com